Past president of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality is trying really hard to distance her organization from history and the organization's leaders. In an article posted on NARTH's website, Hamilton comments on her recent appearance on the Dr. Oz show (see my posts on that subject here and here) and makes a case that...the term “reparative” never referred to trying to “repair” someone. It was originally used to refer to the “Reparative Theory” that when a chi … [Read more...]

In the complaint filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), there are strange allegations made by the plaintiffs. One of the strangest is the following from page 16 of the SPLC complaint:In this paragraph, Alan Downing is a life coach who works for JONAH and was until recently recommended by Richard Cohen's International Healing Foundation. Ferguson is one of the plaintiffs represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center. While … [Read more...]

Interesting case.SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - An attorney says he was forced to quit his job after a law firm docked his pay because he refused to go to a seminar where he feared he would be "stripped naked, not allowed to leave, be required to discuss details of his sex life, handle a wooden dildo, and potentially allow other men to touch his genitals." The lawyer claims his supervising attorney told him that the New Warrior Training seminar would help him "have closer, stronger, and better … [Read more...]

The Mankind Project has been off my radar for months. However, UK journalist Tom Mitchelson put it back on with his eyewitness account published in Saturday's UK Mail Online. I first heard about the MKP's New Warriors Training Adventure at a NARTH (National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) conference in 2003. Various members, including then President Joe Nicolosi, were recommending it to those in attendance as a way to support healthy masculinity. A few same-sex att … [Read more...]

Chris Vogel, the reporter who broke the Michael Scinto story, files a post about the new transparency from the MKP. Like me, he has been unable to get confirmation from MKP. I do trust my source however.Vogel interviewed Kathy Scinto, Michael's mother, who is very happy with the prospects of a change at MKP."I've got chills," the mother of Michael Scinto, Kathy, tells Hair Balls. "Honestly, Hallelujah. I can't believe it.""I'm just so happy because that's all that we ever wanted, … [Read more...]

In 2007, I took some heat over my interest in and criticism of the Mankind Project. My initial interest was sparked by the suicide of Michael Scinto shortly after attending a New Warriors Training Adventure, the signature program of MKP. In addition to my interest in strange approaches to counseling, this program was doubly intriguing because reparative therapists and their supporters (e.g., Joe Nicolosi, Richard Cohen, Arthur Goldberg, Paul Miller) recommend NWTA as a way to reduce same-sex … [Read more...]

Today, Crosswalk.com published my article, "Fathers, sons and homosexuality." It is also up at the Christian Post blog and soon a few other places. In this piece, I examine Joseph Nicolosi's reparative drive theory via a very specific claim made recently in London while speaking to the Anglican Mainstream conference, Sex in the City. In an interview with David Virtue, Nicolosi said:In other words, that fact remains that if you traumatize a child in a particular way you will create a … [Read more...]

I was talking to an acquaintance who attended a Journey into Manhood weekend. He was disappointed that his attractions to the same sex did not evaporate after the weekend. To be sure, he felt a greater sense of masculinity and much less self-conscious. During the first week or two after the weekend, he seemed to notice women more and did not feel the usual tug to look at gay porn. However, after awhile he noticed something unexpected. At what he felt was the height of his feelings of security … [Read more...]